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Photographer Sam Arendt captured a rare sight in a field off Highway K in the Town of Belgium in the far north end of Ozaukee County Friday, Aug. 10, when a mature bald eagle prepared to take flight with part of a woodchuck in his talons. Fish and seafood is the common food for a bald eagle, but the birds will eat small mammals, waterfowl and carrion as well.

Sheriff’s deputies are continuing their investigation into a crash on I-43 in the City of Mequon Monday night that killed a 62-year-old Port Washington man.

Michael Fosco died at the scene of the crash — about a half mile north of Highland Road — of injuries he suffered during the accident, according to the sheriff’s office.

Witnesses saw Fosco driving his 1983 Harley Davidson motorcycle on the shoulder of the freeway, where he lost control of the bike and struck an embankment about 6:15 p.m. Monday, Captain Christy Knowles said.

A divided Port Washington Common Council on Tuesday authorized city officials to draft an amended developer’s agreement that would provide a $365,000 tax incremental financing loan to developer Stephen Perry Smith to remediate soil issues on the marina district land the city sold him a year ago and he is currently developing.

But aldermen stopped short of authorizing the loan, saying they have numerous questions they hope to have answered by their Tuesday, Aug. 21, meeting, when a vote on the issue may be taken.

The sinking of a ship is part of an $8.9 million plan to create a series of artificial reefs extending from Port’s north breakwater that would include attractions such as fish cribs, smaller sunken vessels — perhaps a commercial fishing tug — and sculptures made by area students, Joe Frank, co-owner of Port Deco Divers, said this week.

Port Washington police officer Gary Belzer received a special birthday gift this year — a new liver.

Belzer, who turned 48 on Saturday, received the new liver during a four-hour operation at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee on Thursday.

Things went well, and the following day Belzer was back in surgery as doctors attached the bile ducts to the liver — a procedure they don’t do until they are sure the liver is working properly and producing bile, Belzer’s sister Marie Belzer said.

After something of a hiatus, restoration of the historic Ozaukee County Courthouse is continuing with work being done on the ceiling outside the second floor County Board meeting room.

A canvas mural depicting Miss Columbia has been removed from the ceiling so that it can be restored and workers can repair the plaster beneath it.

“There’s been some degradation of the plaster beneath the mural,” county Administrator Jason Dzwinel said. “Some windows were uncovered and we’ll be uncovering more of that and bringing it back to how it looked back in the early 20th Century.”

Port Washington aldermen on Tuesday tabled action on a conditional use permit that would set the conditions for a Casey’s General Store proposed for Port Washington’s west side.

Much of the discussion Tuesday revolved around traffic, particularly access to the site from Grand Avenue.

Casey’s has proposed improving and sharing the existing access to Eernisse Funeral Home — a proposal the state Department of Transportation is reviewing, said Lauren Downing, project manager with ARC Design Resources, which is designing the store for Casey’s.